Anthony Smith addresses rumored beef with Michael Bisping after Paul Felder replaces him on BYM podcast: "He's the one who put those wheels in motion"
Anthony Smith has opened up about his rumored beef with Michael Bisping in the wake of Paul Felder replacing him on Bisping's BYM (Believe You Me) podcast. Smith, who long served as Bisping's co-host on BYM, shed light on their split.
On his new podcast, the On Paper Podcast, the veteran UFC light heavyweight addressed the ongoing rumors about tensions between him and former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Over the past few months, former UFC fighter Paul Felder gradually replaced Smith as Bisping's co-host on BYM.
In January 2025, a tweet from Bisping confirmed that 'Lionheart' was replaced by Felder. On that note, Smith stated:
"Michael Bisping and I have no beef. Like, we're good. Like, if I seen him, we dap it up, and hug, and have a beer at some point I'd imagine. I love Paul Felder. Like, I really, really enjoy Paul. I think he's incredible at what he does. I think he's an amazing voice in the MMA space."
Smith praised their work as UFC commentators and actors, underscoring that he doesn't have beef with them. Moreover, 'Lionheart' implied that Bisping always encouraged him to pursue his own projects, even supposedly introducing him to the person handling Bisping's social media content.
Smith explained that his new podcast wasn't a secret project that undermined Bisping and was instead something that had taken root during his time at BYM:
"He [Bisping] introduced me to that guy. He's the one who started with the idea that I needed to do that. So there was already some of the bones were already in place for that and have been for a really long time. So there's that. It's not like I was just -- had this thing ready in secret, ready to fire off. He's the one who put those wheels in motion."
Nevertheless, Smith deemed himself a bad communicator and opined that coordinating with their busy schedules contributed to his drifting apart from the BYM Podcast.
Smith indicated that after his coach, Scott Morton, passed away during his (Smith's) UFC 310 training camp in November 2024, he didn't respond to most messages. As such, he hadn't responded to some messages from Bisping, which possibly made it seem like he was ignoring 'The Count'. The series of events eventually resulted in Smith being replaced.
Watch Anthony Smith discuss the topic below (6:40-17:18):
Anthony Smith's MMA future and On Paper Podcast
Anthony Smith is coming off a TKO defeat to Dominick Reyes at UFC 310 in December 2024. Michael Bisping subsequently suggested that he'd like to see Smith return and retire on a winning note. Bisping himself has long retired from MMA and is a UFC Hall of Famer. Moreover, Smith has maintained he'll retire after his next fight, likely in April 2025.
Introducing his On Paper Podcast in January 2025, Smith lauded his co-host Kelly Murphy, his producer on his SiriusXM show for several years. Emphasizing that he always wanted his own space to voice his opinions, Smith said:
"I've always wanted to start kind of my own podcast and do my own thing... It's something you and I have talked about doing for a long time."
Check out Anthony Smith's comments below (0:50):